Visa Crunch

Tech firms like Apple and Google hail Biden’s immigration reforms

Head of Google, Sundar Pichai and Head of Apple, Tim Cook join other IT sector and business groups have applauded Joe Biden’s immigration reforms that could strengthen the US economy by creating jobs and attracting talented foreign employees.

The bill would pave a path for millions of illegal migrants to attain citizenship through an eight-year path and he has signed executive orders that will extend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme for four more years along with reversing the travel ban that the Trump administration put on several Muslim majority countries. DACA protected people who illegally came to the US as children, from deportation along with permission to work.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said that “we welcome President Biden’s commitment to pursuing comprehensive immigration reform that reflects the American values of justice, fairness and dignity. This effort will strengthen American communities and the pathways to opportunity this country has long fostered,” on behalf of the Business Roundtable Immigration Committee. He added that “in the weeks and months to come, business leaders look forward to working with the Administration, as well as Democrats and Republicans in Congress, to achieve bipartisan, practical and comprehensive solutions to fix our broken immigration system, including a permanent solution for Dreamers that includes a path to citizenship.”

The immigration bill referred to as the US Citizenship Act of 2021, proposes to remove the per-country caps for employment-based Green Cards which would also be beneficial to thousands of Indian IT professionals who have been on the waiting queue for decades to attain permanent residency.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai tweeted that “Google has supported action on these important issues & we look forward to working with the new administration to help the US recover from the pandemic + grow our economy.” Google had previously promised to pay application fees of over 500 DACA applicants. He also tweeted that “we applaud POTUS’s quick action on COVID relief, the Paris Climate Accord, and immigration reform.” 

Jason Oxman, president and CEO of Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) which is a global trade association said that “the Biden-Harris administration”s planned actions make important and overdue investments in immigration reforms that can successfully meet the demands of a globally competitive, digital economy, including expanded visa programmes for high-skilled workers and families.” He also said that “we commend President Biden for his swift and decisive actions, and for prioritising this critical issue. Our industry is committed to working with the administration and the 117th Congress to advance these efforts and grow the US innovation economy through a competitive immigration system.”

Subscribe to get the latest news and updates.

No Spam, we promise.

Add comment

Follow us

Don't be shy, get in touch. We love meeting interesting people and making new friends.

Most popular

Most discussed

x

Book your appoinment today!